Delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and
every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
Ending Female Genital
Mutilation/Cutting in
Sudan
What is FGM/C and why is it harmful?
FGM/C comprises all surgical procedures involving
partial or total removal of the external genitalia or
other injuries to the female genital organs for cultural
or non-medical reasons.1 There are three major types
of FGM/C:
1. Clitoridectomy, which entails partial or total
removal of the clitoris. This type is often
called sunna2 circumcision and mistakenly
believed to be associated with religion.
2. Excision,which consists ofpartial or total
removal of the clitoris and the labia minora,
with or without excision of the labia majora.
3. Infibulation, which is the most severeform of
FGM/C, involving stitching/narrowing of the
vaginal opening. It is often called “Pharaonic”
circumcision because there is some evidence
that it was performed in Ancient Egypt.
This type constitutes about 15% of FGM/C
performed worldwide.
FGM/C can have devastating short and long-term
sexual and reproductive health impact. The practice
of its most severeform, infibulation, may cause
obstructed labour and is one of the main causes of
Obstetric Fistula and maternal morbidity. FGM/C is
also routinely traumaticand can result in disability
and even death due tosevere bleeding or infection.
It is often performed in poor sanitary conditions
by traditional practitioners, including midwives,
with little or no surgical training or appropriate
medications to treat infections.
1 WHO/UNFPA/UNICEF Joint Statement, 1997
2 Sunna denotes the practice that should be adhered to in order to fulfil religious
obligation.
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is
a harmful traditional practice which affects
the health and wellbeing of girls and women.
It is estimated that about three million girls
worldwide, the majority under 15-years of age,
face FGM/C each year; and 140 million have
already undergone the procedure.
FGM/C is a practice deeply rooted in tradition
and mainly found in communities across Africa
and the Middle East. For decades, efforts
have been made to end FGM/C through
education and awareness-raising campaigns
leading to thedecline of the practice in most
communities.
Studies have also shown the negative impact of
the practice on maternal and neonatal outcomes.
Those who have undergone FGM/C run a greater
risk of requiring a caesarean sectionand suffering
postpartum haemorrhage. Death rates among newbornsduring and immediately after birth are also
higher for those born to circumcised mothers.
FGM/C in Sudan3
In Sudan, FGM/C has long been an integral part of the
social system. It is a cultural belief of many Sudanese
that the practice safeguards the family’s honour and
the prospect of their daughters’ future marriage,
linking it with premarital virginity and marital fidelity.
Consequently, there is a great deal of stigma against
women and girls who are not circumcised.
Sudan ranks fifth among countries practicing FGM/C
worldwide. The national rate remains high at
65.5%, despite decades of education campaigns in
3 All figures in this Fact Sheet, unless otherwise indicated, are based on the 2010
Sudan Household Health Survey
the country. The levels and forms of FGM/C in the
countryvary across regions.
In most parts of Sudan, girls are usually circumcised
before they reach their 12th birthday. However,
there are also cases where uncircumcised women
are pressured into having the procedure prior to
entering marriage. Infibulated Sudanese women
usually undergo re-infibulation after giving birth.
Attitudes towards FGM/C
Social pressure is a strong motivation to perpetuate
FGM/C in Sudan. Supporters of the practice are
usually the older women in a Sudanese household,
who see FGM/C as a long-standing tradition passed
on from generation to generation. However, it
is not unusual for girls themselves to ask to be
circumciseddue to peer pressure. In addition,
although there are no religious scripts that prescribe
FGM/C, many people still believe that the practice
has religious support.
About 42% of Sudanese women aged 15-49 years
still support FGM/C, which is a decline from 79% in
1990. Support for abolition of FGM/C is mainly found
among Sudanese women with high education and
financial status. A significant reduction in support
forFGM/C is shown by younger women aged 1519 years (58% in 2006 and 37% in 2010), indicating
that attitudes towards the practice are changing
over time. Among men aged 15-49 years, 73% are
in favour of discontinuing FGM/C. Nevertheless,
fears that their daughters will not marry or will be
socially excluded often outweigh their reasons for
abandoning the practice.
Midwives and traditional birth attendants are also
instrumental in FGM/C practice in Sudan; they
perform over 90% of circumcisions in the country.
Infibulation is a significant source of income for the
many midwives.
Efforts to stop FGM/C
Sudan was the first African country to legislate
against FGM/C. The infibulation form of the practice
was declared illegal in 1946 in the Sudan Penal
Code; however, this has not stopped the practice.
Sudanese doctors have been involved in studies on
FGM/C since the 1960s, and civil society movements
against the practice started in the 1970s, including
mass awareness-raising campaigns and strategies
for its eradication.In 1979, the first international
conference on FGM/C was held in the capital of
Sudan, Khartoum.
Sudan has also ratified various international human
rights agreementsunder which FGM is considered a
violation, including the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights;International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and Convention
on the Rights of the Child. Despite all these longterm efforts, FGM/C in Sudan has continued with
little interruption.
UNFPA support and advocacy
For over twenty years, UNFPA has been supporting
efforts to eliminate FGM/C in Sudan and other
countries, not only because of its harmful impact
on the reproductive and sexual health of women,
but also because it is a violation of women’s
fundamental human rights. UNFPA has focused its
work to advocate for public attention and action to
stop all forms of FGM/C.
Currently, UNFPA and UNICEF have a joint programme
that aims at reducing FGM/C by at least 40% by the
year 2015 in 17 countries, including Sudan. The
programme was launched in 2007, and itpromotesa
human rights-based approach to encourage
communities to act collectively to abandon the
practice. This approach has resulted in public
declarations against FGM/C by 670 communities
across Sudan.
UNFPA Sudan works with many national partners
on the advocacy for legal and policy reforms,
includingthe Minister of Welfare and Social Security,
Minister of Health, Ministry of Guidance and
Endowment, National Council on Child Welfare,
Unit on Combating Violence against Women,
the Parliament, Civil Society Organizations and
universities. Achievements include incorporation
of FGM/C elements in the National Action Plan on
Violence against Women and the 5-year National
Strategic Plan 2012-2016. Advocacy also aims at
issuing and reviewing laws that criminalize FGM/C
at national level and in some states. In the area of
education, FGM/C is now included in the Community
Development diploma curriculum of the University
of Gedaref.
The role of the media is critical in accelerating change
and eliminating FGM/C. To that end, UNFPA has
been supporting media campaigns (television, radio,
website, and newspaper) to educate the Sudanese
public on the issue. A Journalists Committee was
established and media personnel were trained to
share information and create culture-sensitive public
dialogue on FGM/C.
Partnerships with religious leaders/networks and
Islamic scholars to de-link FGM/C from Islamhave
brought positive change in many communities which
have declared abandonment of the practice. Efforts
include awareness-raising campaigns, launching of
Child’s Rights Day and programmes by more than
500 religious leaders and Imams, andadvocacy by a
well-respected group of sheikhs called SOGRADS.
UNFPA also supports the country in using population
data for thedevelopment of policies and programmes
on FGM/C in Sudan, including national health
policies, studies on psychological and social impact
of FGM/C, and population censuses and surveys
that reflect FGM/C indicators (e.g. 2008 Population
Census and 2010 Sudan Household Health Survey).
In addition, UNFPA also works closely with health
professionals to support the banning of FGM/C
medicalization. Among the results of this campaign
isprohibition of the practice by the Sudanese Medical
Council as part of doctors’ code of ethics.